Rosemary Kennedy School Reopening School Plan Parent and Family Information Fall 2020

Matthew Zegers, Principal

Jolie Kowal, Assistant Principal

Jake Baron, Assistant Principal

Welcome Back to the Rosemary Kennedy School!

With health and safety considerations our top priority as we bring our students and staff back into the building for the first day of school on September 8th, we have developed many new procedures and protocol to guide our school reopening and ensure that we are prepared to provide essential in-person instruction to our students, as safely as possible. This guidance document outlines important information for parents and families to review before your child returns to school. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our office staff and administrators with any questions or concerns you may have. As always, we will continue to address specific needs and issues on an individual basis and will remain as flexible as possible throughout this process. We’re excited to begin the 2020- 2021 school year and ask for your support and flexibility as we implement new changes and procedures with the same dedication to you and your child’s needs!

Overview Social Distancing Social distancing should be maintained between all individuals while in the Rosemary Kennedy School facilities and on school grounds (inclusive of students, faculty, and staff), unless safety or the core activity requires a shorter distance. All student desks will be spaced at least 6 feet apart within their classrooms. All staff are required to utilize appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) throughout the school day, and students are encouraged to wear face masks whenever social distancing is not possible.

Face Coverings (masks) • Any time or place that individuals cannot maintain appropriate social distancing, individuals must wear acceptable face coverings. • Face coverings are strongly recommended at all times, except for meals and instruction with appropriate social distancing. • Students are encouraged but not required to wear masks. • If necessary, face covering breaks for students will occur when they can maintain social distance and/or are outside of the building. • All individuals in the Rosemary Kennedy School, and on school grounds must be prepared to put on a face covering if another person unexpectedly cannot socially distance; and for this reason, individuals – including students – must wear face coverings in common areas, such as entrances/exits, lobbies, and when traveling around the school. • Students who are unable to tolerate a face covering, including students where such covering would impair their physical health or mental health are not subject to the required use of a face covering. • All students, faculty, and staff are to be trained on how to adequately put on, take off, clean (as applicable), and discard PPE, including but not limited to, appropriate face coverings. This training should be extended to contractors and vendors as well.

Space Configurations To adhere to social distancing guidelines and practices, all spaces and areas at RKS have been analyzed and reconfigured as needed, the use of classrooms and other places where students, faculty, and staff gather have been modified and/or restricted (e.g., cubbies, entryways, hallways), so that individuals can be socially distanced and are not sharing workstations, desks, tables, or other shared surfaces without cleaning and disinfection between use. • To reduce bi-directional foot traffic, measures have been established using signs with arrows in hallways and spaces throughout the school, and signage and distance markers posted denoting spaces of six feet in all commonly used areas. • The sensory room, school store, learning center will be closed until further notice (i.e., no students, faculty, or staff). • Additional and alternate spaces have been established to meet the needs of the students and staff at the Rosemary Kennedy School.

Signage Signs are posted throughout the school and are consistent with DOH COVID-19 signage regarding public health protections against COVID-19. Signage/visuals that are posted will be reviewed with all students and remind individuals to: A. Stay home if they feel sick. B. Cover their nose and mouth with an acceptable face covering when unable to maintain social distance from others. C. Properly store and, when necessary, discard PPE. D. Adhere to social distancing instructions. E. Recognize maximum capacity of specific locations F. Report symptoms of, or exposure to, COVID-19, to Matt Zegers or Aimee Coffee G. Follow hand hygiene, and cleaning and disinfection guidelines. H. Follow respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.

Nursing Nurse The school nurse will align and coordinate school health services to manage, prevent, and/or reduce health issues.

The nurse will coordinate with students’ families and health team to plan for acute respiratory treatment care using up to date standard of care

• Nebulizer treatments and suctioning are identified by the CDC as aerosol generating procedures requiring a N95 Mask fitted to the healthcare worker. • Consult with healthcare provider for alternate asthma medication delivery systems

The nurse will identify students with pre-existing medical or mental health conditions • May have stopped treatment • Run out of medication or supplies • Missed important appointments or procedures

The nurse will implement protocols for assessment of students and staff with symptoms of COVID-19 • Most common symptoms: fever, cough, and shortness of breath

Sick (Isolation) Rooms • Isolation is a medical term and for the purpose of this plan, used for an individual confirmed being sick, demonstrating symptoms and contagions. • Students that are identified by the nurse with symptoms such as a fever and are required to go home will be placed in a separate room. • A health aide will serve as an attendant from the isolation room. Classroom aides and 1:1’s may have to remain and provide any necessary behavioral support for students to go home. • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be provided to that staff member.

Treatment Rooms • Treatments such as nebulizers or diabetes injections will be administered in a separate location in proximity to the nurses office.

Symptomatic Students

• Any students that demonstrates the following in school are required to go home: o Fever/Chills o Severe Cough (As determined by nurse) o Shortness of Breath o Fatigue/Irritability o Muscle Aches o Headache o Loss of Taste and Smell o Sore Throat o Congestion/Runny Nose o Diarrhea o Rash • Any determinations must be made by the school nurse

Nassau BOCES Return to School Protocol

• Symptomatic students will be placed in the isolation room until they leave the building. • In order to return, the student must: o Symptom Resolution o Health Care Provider Note Detailing: . Negative COVID-19 test result . Clearance to return to school including full activities and therapies • Students with chronic health conditions may present a health care provider written note detailing they have been diagnosed with a chronic health condition and are clear to return to school (I.e. asthma, diarrhea, seasonal allergies)

COVID Positive Results

See chart below (page 11)

Parents and Visitors Visitors • Visitors will NOT be permitted without appointments. • Signs are posted on main doors to indicate visitor protocol • All doors remained locked during the day other than arrival/dismissal • Visitors with appointments will sign in at security and answer health questions, wait in lobby area in designated seats • Visitors will be announced by security calling main office or specific classroom/staff member, staff member will come and meet visitor in lobby • All visitors must wear masks • The school will limit the non-essential visitors/volunteers • Delivery areas will be designated for packages, mail etc. and delivery will be contactless.

Arrival and Dismissal

Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up

• Multiple designated areas for arrival and dismissal have been established, limiting contact and entry of parents/legal guardians into the building, to the greatest extent possible, and also limiting crowding during arrival and dismissal.

Arrival: . Staff will wait in their assigned classrooms prior to transitioning ONLY students from their classroom into the building. Buses that have arrived will be announced over the loudspeaker. . Classroom staff may only transition students from their class. . Students that can transition independently will be permitted.

Dismissal: . At the end of the school day, staff will escort students from their classroom to their bus as they arrive in the designated location for dismissal . Staff and students should not congregate in hallways and/or corridors. . Multiple designated areas for busing have been established, limiting contact and crowding during arrival and dismissal.

Student drop off and pick up by parents will remain in the same location (main entrance).

Instruction Classrooms • Students will remain in their designated classrooms at all times during the school day. Exceptions to this include: • Individual therapy sessions • Physical Education classes outside • Walking field trips (on campus outside of building) • Travel throughout the building will be significantly limited and only occur as needed (bathroom, safety, etc.). • To maximize the amount of space in classrooms, materials will be consolidated. • Separate, closed bins are to be used to store students’ personal belongings, instructional materials, and all other classroom items. • Shelves will be free of clutter and only items that can be cleaned easily will be used. • Mitigate risk by limiting and/or eliminating direct contact with classroom equipment and materials (i.e., lessons with no or minimal equipment) and do not allow sharing of materials. If materials must be shared, clean and disinfect between each use. • Shared instructional materials such as manipulatives, games, books should be closely monitored and limited due to the need for continuous cleaning and the limited space available within each room. • Shared tables and furniture will be replaced with individual student desks. Distancing between desks should be optimized to the greatest extent possible. • Ensure that all student desks are facing the same direction. • When feasible, laminate classroom materials (paper) to ensure that they can be cleaned easily. • Incorporate student health and safety concepts within your teaching that adhere to DOH/CDC guidelines for wearing masks, washing hands, social distancing, etc. • All classrooms will be provided a disinfecting solution that will be used to clean all surfaces after instructional sessions and any time materials are used by staff and/or students throughout the day.

Technology • There will be 2 computers in each class. The teacher MAC and the computer designated for the SMARTBoard (DELL). These are to be used by Staff only. IPADS are to be allocated to students for instruction and reinforcement. • SMARTBoards may be used interactively (with individual ‘hand pointers’ when possible) and wiped down after each interaction. • In the event of a school closure (and for students who are receiving instruction and services remotely) instruction will be provided at home through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous delivery methods. • Each day, teachers and staff should plan for alternative instructional delivery methods and be prepared to efficiently transition to providing synchronous and asynchronous instruction remotely.

Microsoft TEAMS It is essential that we are prepared for REMOTE INSTRUCTION at all times. To maintain the fluidity of in-person instruction and remote instruction, all teachers and therapists will use and maintain a MICROSOFT TEAMS page containing the following: • Schedule for CLASS and INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS o It is highly recommended that teachers and providers use WIKI • Links to Continued Work o TEACHTOWN o BOOMCARDS o NEARPOD o BITMOJI DIGITAL CLASSROOM

REMOTE INSTRUCTION In the event of an extended school closure, students will receive instruction while at home through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous digital delivery methods.

Effective remote instruction needs high quality synchronous and asynchronous instruction from teachers, who are able to guide learning and keep students on task. This is achieved by: • Breaking learning into smaller chunks. • Being clear about expectations for online participation. • Providing immediate (or at least frequent) feedback through online knowledge checks, comments on collaborative documents and chat to keep students motivated and moving forward. • Including virtual meetings, live chats and/or video tutorials to maintain a human connection. • Including and designing Independent Learning/Asynchronous. • Designing learning that does not require a lot of support from parents/guardians who might already be overwhelmed.

Work Sessions

• It is expected that direct instruction within the skills program will involve contact with students. This includes but is not limited to prompting. • Staff must sanitize after each work session and clean all instructional materials. • Staff should use proper PPE when they are unable to practice social distancing during direct instruction. Prompting

• Prompting hierarchy needs to remain structured and responsive to student ability/demonstrations. Necessary physical prompting will be implemented and used appropriately.

Instruction of Students on the use of Face Masks

• Explicit instruction must be allocated in the form of discrete trial, social stories, etc. • High rates of reinforcement should be provided to students that comply with health and safety directives • Modify signage for student understanding and provide instruction on how to read mask signs • Align Core Vocabulary with Face Masks content • Time should be allocated daily for repetition of concepts and practice

Meals

• Students will eat breakfast and lunch in their designated classrooms. • Staff will be assigned to retrieve the student’s food and bring back to the classroom. • Student desk surfaces should be cleaned before and after the meals. • Teachers and staff must prohibit sharing of food and beverages. • Microwaves are available for use to heat food. Staff must complete task, not students (wash hands before and after) • Parents may send in individual utensils/plates for their child

Student Supply List (please send in with your child and clearly label): • Face covering (extra if necessary) • Personal mealtime utensils/plates • Extra clothes • Ziplock bags • Paper towels • Box of tissues • Hand Sanitizer • Communication Notebook • Personal Electronic Devices (if necessary)

Special Area Instruction Physical Education o During warm weather days, physical education will be outside o If outdoor activities are not feasible, physical education classes will be live streamed via TEAMS and SMARTBOARD

(a) Students and staff will ensure a distance of 12 feet in all directions is maintained between individuals while participating in activities that require aerobic activity and result in heavy breathing (b) Choices regarding activities in adapted physical education should focus on individual pursuits and skills rather than team or contact sports (c) All games and activities chosen for these classes should require no physical contact and do not require students to be in close proximity to one another

Art and Music • Instruction will be through TEAMS • Classroom Aides will support students as Art and Music teachers provide instruction via TEAMS and SMARTBOARD.

Related Services Speech • Therapists are permitted to complete individual pull-out sessions PT/OT • Sessions will occur in the gymnasium that has been partitioned into sections, and in other repurposed spaces. • Therapists will ensure the cleaning and sanitizing of materials/mats before and after each session. • Therapists will ensure materials are not shared and are cleaned between use. • Small items such as pop beads, plastic coins, Lego pieces, etc. must be sanitized between uses (which will not likely be feasible/efficient) • Other items such as fabric snow balls, hopscotch carpet, bean bags, foam puzzles, cardboard, etc. that cannot be cleaned or sanitized properly should be either thrown away (if old, dirty or in disrepair) or packed up for use at a later date • Consider placing items in Ziploc bags to be designated for specific children, (ie. Crayons, etc.) • Utilize small boxes or bins for individual supplies for students • Resource materials such as textbooks/binders, unless vital, must be removed from work areas.

Hygiene, Cleaning and Bathrooms Hygiene Healthy hygiene practices should be taught and re-taught for both students and staff. Instruction will be provided to the school community in hand and respiratory hygiene, along with providing adequate supplies and time to allow for frequent hand hygiene. Signs are posted throughout the school that are used to remind individuals to:

• Stay home if they feel sick. • Cover their nose and mouth with an acceptable face covering when unable to maintain social distance from others or in accordance with any stricter policy implemented by the school. • Properly store and, when necessary, discard PPE. • Adhere to social distancing instructions. • Report symptoms of, or exposure to, COVID-19. • Follow hand hygiene, and cleaning and disinfection guidelines. • Follow respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.

All students, faculty, and staff will be trained on proper hand and respiratory hygiene, and families will be provided information on ways to reinforce this at home. Teaching healthy hygiene practices can be accomplished in person, by videos, announcements, and posters or signs. • For hand washing: soap, running warm water, and disposable paper towels. • For hand sanitizing: an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol for areas where handwashing facilities may not be available or practical. • Student use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers should always be supervised by adults to minimize accidental ingestion and promote safe usage. • Hand sanitizer will be available throughout common areas

Cleaning and Disinfection • It is the primary responsibility of the custodial staff to clean and disinfect all facilities, however, teachers and staff should clean and disinfect shared and frequently touched surfaces throughout the school day.

Disinfectant • Custodians and staff will use the hospital grade QT50. Classrooms/Offices will be given spray bottle(s) filled with the diluted solution • When refill is needed, staff will reach out to the custodial staff Bathrooms • Restrooms will be cleaned and disinfected more often depending on frequency of use. Custodial staff will address the bathrooms 4 times a day. • Registered disinfectants are used for cleaning and disinfecting of materials. • Sign in forms will be used to monitor travel throughout the school, including the bathroom. Garbage • Garbage will be emptied by custodial staff 2x a day (after breakfast and after lunch) • Lunch schedules will be shared with custodial staff so it is understood when lunch is over

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) Each classroom and therapy treatment room will receive the necessary PPE equipment for staff and students: • Face masks • Face shields (Staff) • Gloves • Disinfectant Spray • Hand Sanitizer

Classrooms and Offices with sinks will have hand soap for proper hand washing.

Contact Tracing https://www.nassauboces.org/reopening/tracing-testing

Contact Log (Classroom student and staff log) • In the event of a confirmed case within the building, we will need to account for where that person was within the building. • A contact log must be completed for students and staff. The contact log will note the time, location, and any other interaction outside of the classroom cohort (i.e. therapist, administrator) of any staff or student throughout the course of the day. • All contact log sheets must be changed each day. The contact log sheets must be stored and readily available upon request by administration.

Student and Staff Daily Screening Requirement

• Nassau BOCES students and employees must complete a self-assessment before entering a Nassau BOCES building. The agency created an app -- Power Apps -- for this purpose and all staff members are asked to download and use the app. It can be found free in the app store for most phones or other mobile devices.

• Learn more about the Self Screening App for Nassau BOCES

• Below are the three self-assessment questions that should be reviewed before your child leaves for school. If you answer yes to any of the questions below, you will need to provide a “return to school” note from a qualified medical practitioner before you will be permitted to return to school.

1. In the last 14 days, have you had any of the following COVID-19 symptoms: • A fever of 100.0 or greater, or chills; • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; • New loss of taste or smell? 2. In the last 14 days, have you tested positive for COVID-19 or are required to be quarantined due to New York State Coronavirus travel restrictions? Visit coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19- travel-advisory to see a list of states currently subject to quarantine. 3. In the last 14 days, have you had close contact with a currently confirmed or suspected COVID19 case?

2. The app can be downloaded for iOS and Android devices by searching for “Power Apps” or by visiting the links below from your mobile device:

3. PowerApps on the Apple App Store PowerApps on the Google Play Store

4. 5. Watch a how-to video for help getting started with the app and find the answers to frequently asked questions on the Self Screening App for Nassau BOCES page.

Screening Flow Chart for COVID-19 AT LEAST ONE SYMPTOM EXPOSURE DIAGNOSIS NO FLAGS (Fever, Difficulty (No Symptoms) (No Symptoms) Breathing, Loss of Taste or Smell) PROCEED TO CANNOT GO TO CANNOT GO TO CANNOT GO TO SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL

Home for 14 days Home for 10 days If confirmed since exposure. since first positive positive COVID-19 COVID-19 test. OR person has not been tested: 10 days since first symptoms, no fever for 24 hours (without the use of fever- reducing medications) AND symptoms improvement can return to school. If negative COVID- 19 test: No fever for 24 hours (without the use of fever- reducing medications) AND symptoms improvement can return to school. If confirmed case other than COVID- 19: Follow normal school policies to return to school.

School Safety Drills Requirement

Districts or other applicable schools shall conduct standard operations and procedures to the best of their abilities without deviating from current requirements. Fire (evacuation) Drills and Lockdown Drills are required by Education Law (12 drills including 8 evacuation drills to be completed by December 31st and 4 lockdown drills) and the Fire Code (1 evacuation drill every month of the calendar year). Such drills must be conducted without exceptions. Methods to promote and provide for social distancing during the evacuation and lockdown drills are ultimately the district’s or other applicable school’s decision and responsibility. Those changes must be included in their Safety Plans.

Fire and Lockdown Drills Evacuation (Fire) Drills will be conducted in a manner that regardless of what in-person educational model is utilized all groups of students will participate in the drill. This means that split schedules or alternate day education will need to provide evacuation drills in a manner that all students are included. In some instances, this may result in more drills (possibly double) the number of normally required drills in order to cover all students. In order to maintain social distancing, evacuation of the entire building at one time may not be possible. Each building Principal/Administrator will determine based, on total building attendance, the best practice for their site which may include: (1) Due to reduced building occupancy following the usual evacuation process; (2) Conduct drills with each split schedule group; (3) For total in-building occupancy conduct drills in limited portions of the building until the entire building is complete and (4) Any alternate combination which will reduce the number of students evacuating the building at any given time. It will be imperative that all students and staff wear face coverings during drills. Evacuation locations outside the building will be supervised by each teacher to avoid congregation and maintain social distancing while maintaining security and control over the class they supervise. In the event of an actual evacuation social distancing will not be the priority.

Lockdown Drills will not be able to be conducted in the normal manner and students will refrain from gathering in corners of the classroom. Instead, the normal lockdown drill procedure will be initiated over the loudspeaker or other defined notification method, but students will remain in their seats. The classroom teacher will explain the reason for a lockdown and the normal process that would take place. Time will be given for questions and answers. The lockdown drill will end with a loudspeaker announcement explaining that if it was a real event a Police Officer would be coming to every classroom to release students. This concept will be reinforced by the classroom teacher. As noted for evacuation drills, regardless of the educational in-person model utilized, all students in every group will need to participate. It should be noted that in the event of an actual lockdown the normal lockdown procedures will be followed and social distancing will not be the priority.

NYSED School Bus Drill The Commissioner’s regulations are amended to provide that for the first school bus drill to be conducted during the first seven days of schools, such seven days shall exclude any days where school is closed pursuant to an Executive Order of the Governor for the COVID-19 crisis for the Fall term for 2020-21 school year.

Definitions: Close Contact According to the CDC, a close contact is defined as: a. within 6 feet of a positive case for more than 10-15 minutes for 48 hours before case’s symptom onset to case’s isolation; b. exposed to or give care to positive case; c. direct touching; d. shared food; e. exposed to sneezing or coughing or talking.

*This also assumes that appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) has not been utilized.

Close contacts are required to be quarantined according to NYS Department of Health and are monitored by Nassau County and NYS contact tracing efforts. In some cases, we may decide to make notifications to other students and staff in the classroom or building who are not close contacts. These individuals should be monitored for signs and symptoms but are not part of the contact tracing effort.

References: North Carolina School Guidance Plan https://www.nassauboces.org/domain/1733 https://www.nassauboces.org/reopening/plan